Fairies and Arrows
by Big J Bow-Meow
Summary: AU. It has been two months since the battle with Tartarus. It was the hardest battle Fairy Tail had fought yet. But now, it's time for the S-Rank Exam, and everyone is doing their best to win! But, Fairy Tail is known for its power, and a certain Dark Guild wants that power. Suddenly, everything that could possibly go wrong for Fairy Tail goes very, very wrong. T-Plus for language.
1. The S-Rank Exam

So, hey everyone! I'm Big J, the DBZ nut. But about a month and a half before I started this, someone told me to read Fairy Tail. I did, and now it's my favorite manga! :D I have only read a few FT fics, in order to retain originality once I start one and to not be influenced by others' ideas. So, if I decide to include canon pairings (I don't like things like GraLi, NaMi, or DroLu, Mavis forbid), the main focus will probably be on NaLu with some GaLe and maybe Gruvia possible some ElfEva. So, this is my first FT fic, so I have no idea how good it'll be. So please, bear with me, and tell me what you think! Anything to make this story better! :D

By the way, updates may take anywhere between four days and a month, but probably longer, since I have a hard time getting my computer to work sometimes, and I will alternate between updating this and another fanfic. So please, if I take a bit, be patient.

Another note: There are direct and vague references made to later chapters of Fairy Tail not released in America, and maybe not even officially released in Japan itself! If you only have watched the anime, and have not read the manga, then you probably are still in the middle of the Daimatou Enbu Arc. There is a mini arc, the Sun Village Arc, following that, and then the Tartarus Arc, which is still in progress. You can read it on sites like Mangapanda. But hey, they're continuing the anime in April in Japan. So, hooray! :D

At this point, I have read up to chapter 367. If there are inconsistencies, then I will later change this chapter accordingly.

Enough with me. Enjoy the story! :)

Disclaimer: I don't even own any Fairy Tail manga or figures or posters or anything, let alone the whole series!

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><p>Chapter 1: The S-Rank Exam<p>

It had been about two months since the battle with the Dark Guild Tartarus. That had probably been one of the toughest battles Fairy Tail had ever fought. Most of the members of the guild had been badly injured. The Nine Demon Gates were very powerful.

Some of the members were still recovering from that battle. Natsu was fine, as he tends to heal fairly quickly. But Erza was still healing from what Kyouka and Neo Minerva did to her. Juvia, Lucy, Elfman, and Gray were more or less okay now. But Elfman was still moping about his fight with Sayla, and the 'aftermath' of it. He didn't like talking about it, naturally, but had said he'd get over it, if he was a 'real man.' Mira was all right, too. She and Lisanna had gotten out of the battle relatively unscathed. Laxus had just recently gotten over the illness he got from Tempesta.

So, yeah. Everything had been going great. Especially for our favorite little Dragon Slayer Natsu.

"YOOOSSSHHH!" He cried out, jumping out of bed and rushing into his clothes. "Happy, wake up! The S-Rank Exam is s'posed to start today! We gotta get to the guild and see who's participating!"

"Nnn... Huh...?" muttered a drowsy Happy, rubbing one eye. "Wuzzat today...?"

"Hurry up, Happy! You're so slow today!" Natsu didn't even bother to clarify again for his best friend. He was just so excited! He was gonna kick everybody's asses! Not even bothering to check for any food in the fridge, he grabbed the blue Exceed and bolted out the door, leaving a trail of dust behind.

* * *

><p><em>BLAAAT! BLAAAT! BLAAAT!<br>_

"Uhnn, five more minutes..." Lucy muttered from under her pillow. She was well aware that the S-Rank Exam's participants were supposed to be announced that morning. But she was just so _tired_. She slammed the snooze button on her alarm clock, but it only went off again a few minutes later.

"Fine, I'm up, I'm up...!" She finally got out of bed, rather sluggishly, and decided the first thing she needed was a shower. So she threw her light pajamas into the laundry basket for later, and stepped into the hot water. It was just the thing to wake her up. Still somewhat sleepy, she turned off the water and wrapped herself in a fluffy towel. Now she just had to get her clothes on, find something to eat, and WHY THE HELL IS GRAY SITTING ON HER BED HALF NAKED?!

"Heya Lucy."

"GRAY, WHY ARE YOU IN MY HOUSE?! IN MY BEDROOM WITH JUST YOUR BOXERS ON, NO LESS!"

Gray looked down and seemed mildly surprised to only see his boxers, but he didn't seem too worried about it. "Oh. In that case can I borrow one of your shirts?"

"Of course not! Now tell me why you're in my bedroom!"

"Well," he said, shrugging off his denied clothing rights, "the S-Rank Exam is today, and you weren't at the guild. I figured you slept in, so I came here to wake you up, but you were already showering."

"So why are you still here?" Lucy deadpanned.

Ignoring Lucy's question, Gray said, "So, hurry and get your clothes on or whatever so we can go."

"Yeah, right! Get out of here so I can change!" When the ice mage made no move to get up from her bed, Lucy threw up her hands in exasperation. "Fine, I'll just change in the bathroom! But you better not be in here when I get out!" Still in her towel, she grabbed some clothes from her drawer, then walked back into the bathroom.

When she emerged, fully clothed, she found Gray digging through her drawer and trying to fit into a pair of her capris. "I SAID NO CLOTHING!"

* * *

><p>Fairy Tail was just as rambunctious as ever, if not even more so. There was chatter everywhere about the exam, in particular. Everyone wanted to know who was participating, what challenges there would be, where it would take place, and anything and everything else about it.<p>

At some point, Macao repeatedly beat his fist- and his mug- on a table. "I know I'm gonna get in this time! I'm the guy who defeated nineteen Vulcans, remember! I deserve to get in!"

"You're disturbing my drinking..." Cana said dangerously. Macao shut up, sensing her wrath, but the damage was done. The cards were drawn, and before anyone knew it, there was a guild-wide brawl.

The guild was a mess by the time Team Natsu burst through the doors.

"Aww, yeah!" Natsu yelled, jumping onto one still-somehow-intact table and pumping a fist. "Natsu's here, everybody, and ready to kick some ass!"

"Aye, sir!"

"Oh yeah, Flame Brain? How do you know _you_ won't get your ass kicked?" a now fully-clothed Gray countered. "By me, most likely."

"Oh, get real, Ice Boxers! Say that when you have a shirt on, you pervert!"

"Hey, my shirt! You took it again, didn't you, you flaming piece of shit!"

"You can't prove nothing, Droopy Eyes!"

"Oh yeah, Fireplace?!"

"Stripper!"

"Pinky!"

"Iceface!"

"There they go again," said Lucy, facepalming.

"Enough from you two," Erza said sternly. "Or would you like to go on a mission together and miss the exam?"

The two stopped immediately. "A-Aye..."

"That's enough from all of you!" Erza called out. Needless to say, the fighting stopped almost instantly.

"Shhh!" Nab said from his spot by the request board. "The Master's about to give the announcement!"

Everyone looked up to the second floor, and sure enough, Makarov sat on his usual perch with beer in hand.

"It seems like you're all here," he said. "Do we have everybody? Raise your hand if you're absent." No one spoke, but Lucy sweatdropped. "Alright then. So, as you all know, the S-Rank Exam was interrupted a few months ago, or years, for most of us, due to... was it funding?" Most of the guild, who hadn't been on the island when Acnologia attacked it, nodded, so the Guild Master went on. "So, I have decided that the exam will begin today." The whole guild cheered.

"However, I have also decided that the exam will not take place on Tenrou Island," Makarov continued. Everyone looked around in confusion. Weren't most, if not all, of the Fairy Tail S-Rank Exams held on Tenrou Island? Why not this time? "Surely you all remember that is was at Tenrou Island, believed to only to be accessible by Fairy Tail's own members, thanks to Mavis's barrier spell, where we had been ambushed by the Dark Guild Grimoire Heart of the Balam Alliance? Therefore, the island can no longer be considered safe for holding the exams any longer." Many murmurings were heard among the guild.

"But isn't it tradition to hold the exams on the island?"

"We can tough out whatever anyone throws at us!"

"Except if Acnologia shows up again..."

"Be a man, already!"

"But... I'm a girl..."

"ENOUGH OUT OF YOU BRATS!" Everyone shut up. "I have made my decision, and, as sad as I am with it, it is final, and it must be done. However, Wendy has told me of another place where we could hold the exam. Wendy, could you please come up here?"

The crowd parted in order to let the Sky Dragon Slayer through. "Um, okay..." she said, feeling rather nervous. She cautiously walked up the stairs to the second floor and took her place by Makarov. The Guild Master nodded at her, smiling encouragingly, so she began. "W-Well, back when I was with Grandine, she, um, she told my of an island... in the sky..." People gasped. Wendy paused, not much liking to be the center of attention. "A-Actually, the island is where Grandine normally lives. But, um, since she's kind of, you know, missing... I'm sure she wouldn't mind if we borrowed if for a day or two." The whole thing sounded silly, even to her own ears, but if it was a way to be able to promote the guild members to S-Rank and be able to take tougher missions (and therefore make more much-needed money), then she guessed any options were welcome.

"B-But," stammered Lisanna from somewhere near the back. "How are we ever going to get there?"

"Don't you worry about that," Makarov said, grinning. "I convinced the Council to let us borrow an airship to get there. The whole trip should take about a week, maybe longer, as the island is floating many miles above Stella.

"I wonder what he had to tell them to convince them into lending him a ship," Jet muttered to Droy. "Not the truth, surely!"

"H-How about we find the Exceed and make them fly us there?!" Natsu called out, paling. "I won't live through a week of... urk... transportation... flying... ughhh..." The fire mage's cheeks swelled up just thinking about flying in an airship.

"First things first," said Makarov, ignoring Natsu completely, "I must announce the participants for this exam. There are going to be twelve participants this year, in teams of three." He paused, giving everyone time to fret about their Master's choice. "Team One shall be... Juvia... Gray..." "DAMMIT!" "...and Freed." The mages nodded, Gray glumly, Juvia excitedly.

"Yes, Juvia thinks that we will win for sure!" said the blunette.

"With me here, we may just have a chance," Freed said calmly.

"I don't wanna be here." Gray's lightly tinted cheeks supposedly said otherwise.

"Team two will be... Lucy... Natsu... and Wendy."

"Yeah, I'm all fired up!"

"Huh? M-Me?! Really?"

"Well, at least I got grouped up with my own team," Lucy said cheerfully.

"Hey, it hardly seems fair that one group is formed of members of the same team, yet not the other," Gray complained.

"Would you like to be on my team then, Ice Pants?" Natsu said, smirking smugly.

"You wish I was on your team, Flame Breath," Gray replied, returning a smirk of his own when Natsu's eye twitched.

"Now now," Makarov interrupted, "I assure you that the teams were selected randomly."

"Maybe it's Lucy's luck!" Natsu yelled, fist-pumping. "We can't lose with luck on her side! Hahahaaahh!"

Lucy looked slightly downwards when Natsu said that. Sure, he was talking about being lucky in general, but really, even he believed that it originated from her. It was like he was complimenting her indirectly! Lucy looked to Levy, her trusted, if not a little gossipy, friend, only to see her making teasing kissing faces at her. The celestial mage flushed. "How embarrassing..."

"Team three," Makarov continued, "will be... Elfman... Evergreen... and Happy."

"Yay, I made it!"

"Ughh, why did I have to get grouped with two idiots...?" Evergreen muttered.

"Aye!"

"I was talking about you too, stupid cat."

"Yeah, I'm gonna win this!" Elfman called, getting excited. "LIKE A MAN!"

"And last, but not least," said the Guild Master, "is team four. Levy... Pantherlily... and Gajeel."

"AWW, COME ON!" Macao yelled.

"Calm down, dad..." Romeo muttered. "There's always next year.

"So, I um... got grouped with Gajeel, huh...?" Levy said, slightly flustered and tapping her index fingers together.

"So it looks like I'm with the midget, huh," Gajeel said, scratching the back of his head. "Geehee! This'll be fun, especially since Natsu's in, too!"

"These seem like very odd coincidences," Lily said quietly to himself.

"Looks like someone's been going nuts with the power couples, huh?!" Bickslow called out, noticing the red faces of many fairies. "All that's missing is a little RoWen team! Hahaah! That's hilarious!"

"Ahem, well, yes, this is rather odd," Makarov commented. "I really don't know why it came out this way..." Down below, Gildarts barely suppressed a chuckle. "But these are the selected teams, so we all have to deal with it. We leave in three hours. Use these three hours to eat, rest, decide team names, whatever you kids want. But be inside the guild in three hours' time. The rules will be explained on the way to the island. I will see you then." Makarov then jumped from his favorite railing and disappeared into his office, leaving Fairy Tail to start talking and scheming.

* * *

><p>The Magic Council had to go under new employment, as the demon Jackal had kind of killed everybody. The building was still going through reconstruction, also because of Jackal. The ten members were talking about the strange request for an airship.<p>

"There's no way they just wanna go sightseeing!" yelled one member, a young man wish cropped blond hair and piercing green eyes. "I still can't believe you just... _gave_ it to them!"

"Calm down, Ira," said an older member, a man with long, brown hair and a beard, both with gray streaks, named Lenio.

"Don't you tell me to calm down!" Ira yelled, slamming his hands on the large table. "This whole thing is just outrageous!"

"I agree with you," said yet another member, a woman with pale green hair that reached the small of her back. "However, I believe we should see what their true intentions are."

"You're right about that, Musa," replied Mirus, a man with deep auburn hair that seemed rather tousled. "I do wonder what Fairy Tail is up to this time."

"Hey, isn't this around the time when most guilds hold their S-Rank Exams?" questioned Laetor, a peppy man, despite being middle-aged, wish very short purple hair and bright eyes.

"But couldn't they have just, well, I dunno, borrowed a boat or something?!" Ira demanded. "I mean, they _do_ hold their exams on Tenrou Island, don't they?!"

"But remember that the island went missing seven years ago," Musa replied. "And though it has reappeared, no one knows why it disappeared in the first place. What if it were to happen again? We wouldn't want a missing guild, now would we?"

"Maybe they were behind it all along!" yelled Ira, getting especially frustrated. "We should stop them before they do something REALLY stupid!"

"I say we leave them be," said a woman with long, black hair, a seductive smile, and a very curvy body. The aura she gave was sweet, almost like honey. But the other Council members weren't fooled for a second.

"But, Dolus..." stammered Ira, turning somewhat pale.

"We already voted to lend the airship to Makarov, didn't we?" Dolus continued in her soft, silky voice. "What's done is done. All we can do now... is wait." The female mage mentally smiled to herself. _This whole thing might just get interesting after all..._

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><p>So there's chapter one of this fic out of the way! :D I hope you all liked it so far! The Council is all my creation, based off of older OCs for another anime that I just never used. Do you like any of them so far? Are you curious about their names? Did I do something wrong in the story? Please tell me! Anything I can do to make this better, criticism included, is always welcome. :) And please tell me how I did. Reviews always make an author happy. Reviews are the life blood of all writers.<p>

Big J


	2. Oh, The Plots!

Hey, I'm back with an all-new chapter of FaC (now renamed Fairies and Arrows)! Sorry it took longer than I said it would. Darn OoFuri. I also blame Hunter x Hunter.

I apologize for generally being unmotivated to work on this, at all, whatsoever. Been busy, yes, but also not in a typing mood. Writer's block is a huge help, by the way, isn't it?

So, kinda disappointed with the number of reviews: zero. Razz the Saiyan Girl told me via PM that she liked it, but the rest of you, _pleeease_, say _something_ about the story. Good, bad, I really don't care. But it just kills an author to not get at least a _little_ feedback. So, thank you, Razz. :) But I guess the views were alright, so I guess I don't have much right to rant. But please, could you take ten seconds out of your life to make a girl's day?

Right now, I have read up to chapter 381. SPOILER ALERT! Minerva officially looks even stupider than before. The sequel to the Fairy Tail anime is out now as Fairy Tail 2014, and, if you speak Japanese better than I do (Anoo, watashi wa nihongo o amari jouzu hanashimasen. :p), then you can catch up on the anime. But manga is the way to go. Definitely.

Disclaimer: Love the manga. Love the anime. Love Natsu... No, nothing. But I don't own any of these things. I wish I owned Natsu. I mean, uh... 0_0 Just ignore me.

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><p>Chapter 2: Oh, the Plots!<p>

One hour.

One more hour until the beginning of the S-Rank Exam. And boy, was Fairy Tail _pumped!_ Everyone was yelling, betting, taunting, strategizing, stripping... Someone was running on the ceiling. We're not gonna question that.

"All right, so here's what we're gonna do," Natsu whispered, telling Lucy and Wendy- Team 'Natsu Is Awesome,' as they of course were pretty much forced to call themselves- of his brilliant plan, "Whatever the challenge is, we're gonna go in there, AND KICK EVERYONE'S ASSES!"

"Um, I don't think that's necessary," Wendy said.

"And that's your answer to everything, Natsu," Lucy added, a little annoyed.

The Dragon Slayer crossed his arms. "You guys're so boring. Everyone knows that you don't deserve to be S-Rank if you can't beat everyone else up."

"Fine, you be the muscle," Lucy replied exasperatedly. "Then Wendy can be support, and the brains will be _moi._"

"I didn't know you had a 'brains', Lucy!" Natsu said, grinning.

"UGH YOU LITTLE...!"

Meanwhile, Team 'Gruvia And Freed' were making plans of their own.

"Juvia thinks that she and Gray-sama should ambush Team Natsu and capture Lucy," Juvia said, hooking an arm around a resistant Gray. "Then, their numbers will be few, and we can be victorious."

"And where am I in this plan, Juvia?" Freed inquired.

"Of course Freed can be backup, if we need it."

"Interesting..."

"FREED, YOU CAN'T SERIOUSLY BE AGREEING TO THIS!"

Team 'Shadow Gear II' had another, similar approach in mind.

"Leave Natsu to me," Gajeel said, arms crossed as usual. "I'll take him on, and not only will it increase our winning chances, but I get to have fun doing it."

"But what if it isn't that kind of challenge?" Levy asked. "Maybe it'll be a race, or even a scavenger hunt."

"A scavenger hunt," Gajeel muttered. "Seriously?!"

"We can't rule it out," Lily said. "But it's impossible to make a real plan until we know for certain what kind of challenge it is."

"True," said Levy.

"Well, whatever happens, Fire Breath's mine," Gajeel stated firmly. Lily and Levy agreed wholeheartedly.

And the other team, 'Gorgon Manhood,' was coming up with another scheme altogether. Well, actually, they were having a bit of trouble coming to an agreement.

"Charge like a man! WOOOT! I am READY FOR THIS!"

"You moron!" Eva shouted. "You should know that charging in blind is pointless! You'd get killed in a real battle!"

"He's lasted this long, Eva," Happy countered.

"Oh, shut up, you stupid cat! This is even assuming it'll be a battle!"

"Of course it'll be a battle!" Elfman cried out. "Fairies are MEN! WE MUST FIGHT TO THE END! GAAARRR!"

"Aye!"

"You're all so annoying!"

All too soon, the final hour was over, and it was time to head to Grandine's Floating Island.

"Okay, are all of the participants here?" Makarov called out. No one said otherwise. "Good. Now, children, follow me outside and onto the airship, and we'll get going."

Natsu and Gajeel had to be dragged outside, but all four teams managed to board onto the ship. Before taking off, however, Makarov turned for a last few words. "Don't you all worry. You'll get to watch the fight using the Lacrima-vision. Oh, and Erza?"

Said mage had just finished loading supplies onto the airship. "Yes, Makarov?"

"I think it'd be better if you came with us. It would be smart to have an S-Rank mage with us."

"Okay. Just let me pack my things."

Due to Erza's entire wardrobe being practically ripped out of the wall, along with rations to last at least two months (yes, these also came from the wall), it was another forty-five minutes before the airship was able to take off, and a small figure disappeared into shadow.

* * *

><p>Fidus, a young man, still practically a boy, scampered into Dolus's private chamber. He bore a piece of paper with writing on it.<p>

"Did you do what I asked of you, Fidus?" Dolus asked.

"Yeah, I did," he replied. He then read the paper, as he tended to forget things and needed to write them down. "Um, the airship Fairy Tail is using isn't going to another country, or even another town, as we first thought."

"Is that so?"_ Intriguing._

"Y-Yes. Um, they're going to this one place, called... um... Grandine's Floating Island."

This piqued Dolus's interest. "A floating island? And did you say Grandine?"

Startled by the woman's change in tone, Fidus took a minute to reply. "U-Um, yeah, I-I said Grandine. Why?"

"Because," Dolus said sweetly, leaning in close. "Grandine is a dragon, and one of the most powerful there is."

"Ah! A d-d-_dragon?!_"

"Did I stutter?"

"Um, no, ma'am."

"Good." Dolus straightened and looked out through her window. "I simply wonder why Fairy Tail would pick such a place to hold their exam. It might be better to send some of my men out there to make sure they aren't causing any trouble."

"B-But I thought you said to leave them be for now..."

Dolus whipped around to face her young messenger. "Are you questioning me, _boy?_"

"N-N-No, ma'am."

"Then do as I said and send my men to that floating island!" Fidus was out the door and gone before she could finish her command.

* * *

><p>"Arrghh, are we there yet...?" Natsu grumbled, laying on the floor of the airship. "I don't even know what day it is any more... <em>burp<em>... You guys _tryin'_ to kill me...?"

"Don't worry, Natsu," Lucy replied, awkwardly rubbing his back in an attempt to relieve him of his motion sickness. "We should be getting there any minute now." The celestial mage clasped her hands together, and her eyes shone. "I bet the place is going to be beautiful! The weather will be nice, and I can work on my tan, and, and..." She went off on this tangent for a while.

"Oh, barf," Happy muttered.

"Natsu, how about you shut up?" Gray called out from his seat, shirtless as usual and completely ignoring the fact that Natsu was no longer talking.

"Sh-Shut up... _bleghh_... Ice Cube... _hurk!_..."

"Can't do much from there, can you, Flame Puke?"

"Do those two ever stop arguing...?" Lucy asked herself, pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation.

"You should seriously stop asking yourself questions like that, Lucy," Happy said.

"Quiet, Happy."

After a few minutes, Erza stepped in to say, "Master says we will be landing in ten seconds, so brace yourselves for impact."

"WHAT?!"

_BOOM!_

As the ship made harsh contact with the floating island, all four teams bounced and crashed and collided with each other and the furniture inside with them. At some point, Natsu had turned green. Fortunately, the ship had stopped rocking before he could really get sick. Unfortunately, Gray happened to be underneath him when it finally did happen.

_"Arrgh!"_

"We're here," reported an unfazed Erza.

"You could have done a softer landing!" Lucy complained.

"That could have gone smoother." Freed agreed.

"Let's do that again!" Elfman shouted.

"Aye!" Happy yelled.

"Idiots..." muttered Gray, taking off his pants and using them to clean himself of Natsu's... little present. "Can't those two see I'm in agony over here?" Someone threw a shirt and pants at his face, much to the ever-fangirling Juvia's annoyance.

"Well, c'mon, everyone!" Natsu called out, already recovered from the long trip. "The friggin' Exam's about to start! I am NOT gonna miss this!" The Dragon Slayer then dashed out of the airship, leaving a trail of dust in his wake.

"I wish I could be as energetic as him," Lucy muttered, slowly following him.

"Aye," Happy agreed, tagging alongside.

"HEY, YOU'RE NOT ON THIS TEAM!"

"So mean, Lucy..."

Wendy just followed quietly, deciding that this wasn't her place to make a comment.

"Hey, he's gettin' away!" Gejeel yelled, grabbing a flustered Levy by the waist. "C'mon, guys! Don't let him escape!" So Gajeel (with Levy) and Lily were hot on Natsu's trail.

"Let's go, Gray-sama!" Juvia yelled, clinging tightly to her victim- er, teammate.

"Let go of me first!" was all Gray could get out before being dragged away to who-knows-where. Freed just sighed and tried to catch up.

"Damn, they're ahead!" Elfman grunted. "We gotta catch up! WAIT FOR US, HAPPY!" The Take Over mage took off full speed after the rest of the participating guild.

"Idiots, every last one of them," Eva muttered, adjusting her glasses as she calmly left the airship.

Now the only one in the room was a slightly bristling Erza.

"No one stuck around for the instructions..."

Thankfully for the participating guild members (except those in the back who were unable to escape Erza's wrath), Makarov was already outside to give the instructions, and the entire guild skidded to a halt to avoid slamming into their Master.

"It appears as if everyone here is alive and kicking," he commented, particularly looking at Natsu, who was practically trembling with excitement despite the recent trip.

"Now all of you, listen carefully," he continued. "There are many rules that apply in this particular exam, and once I have gone over them, I will not repeat them." His eyes scanned the small crowd, making sure he had everyone's attention. "The exam is simple, really. Each group will enter this forest," he said, gesturing behind him to the thin forest not thirty feet behind him. "and search for the stone tablets I hid throughout the forest."

"That didn't take vary long, did it," Lucy muttered, ever the one to notice the tiniest flaws in the plot.

"Once you find those tablets, you are to bring them back here. But," Makarov's gaze suddenly intensified. "No more than half of you will be passing this exam." Any muttering among the fairies was immediately silenced.

_Is there not enough artifacts for everyone?_ Levy thought to herself. _He never specified how many there were. __Or is it some obstacle? It could be any number of things, so we have to be careful._

"Stealing tablets from other groups is allowed, but you may not have any more than one at one time," The Master went on. "As long as at least two of your group members are able to move or carry the stone, your group is safe. Keep in mind that being able to move is not necessarily the same as being able to fight. You are bound to fight enemies here, or even each other. Regardless of having two members who can still move, or even if all of you can, if all members of the group are unable to fight, the entire group is disqualified fro the exam. If one member is unable to move, then that person is disqualified, but the rest may move on. Was any of that unclear?" The entire group stayed silent, although Natsu had a dazed look on his face, but soon his brain caught up with the information and he nodded. "Good."

_So this means we have to all support each other,_ Wendy thought. _We can't afford to leave any members of our group behind, or we might not all make it as S-Rank mages. So... I'll be strong, for Natsu and for Lucy!_

"Erza will be patrolling the forest and keeping an eye on all you children," Makarov said. "Attacking her or otherwise interfering with her duty will result in instant disqualification of your entire team, so don't screw it up for everyone else!" The fairies nodded vigorously, wishing to incur either Makarov's nor Erza's wrath. "And finally the obvious rules: No killing, no maiming, no injuring your own teammates, yadda yadda yadda." The Master grinned. "Well, now that all that's out of the way, the S-Rank Exam may now... _begin!_"

With a loud whoop and lots of excited shouting, Fairy Tail split up and ran into the forest of Grandine's Floating Island.

* * *

><p>Whew! I finally got this done! It's about time, right? Well, I'm pretty sure the boring part's over now, so hopefully the fic will start getting updated faster. If anyone has anything to say, I might just update a little faster, wink wink. ;) So, I hope to get some good criticism, and maybe some flames, too. Natsu's kinda hungry, you see. Anyway, I'll be seeing you in the next chapter of Fairies and Arrows!<p> 


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